THE GREAT WAR ( aaron warner )

II ━ Help

It smells like rain in the morning. The room has an orange hue to it. I can hear the puttering of the rain drops outside.

I woke up earlier than Gaston. He's still splayed out on his twin sized mattress.

Yesterday was the most I have talked since I got to the asylum. I haven't even talked that much to Juliette. I still don't know why I did it. Why I decided to talk to him.

I gently take off the thin blanket clad over my body as I move my feet to the floor. I tip-toe to the window and sit on my knees.

Glancing at Gaston to make sure he's still asleep, I turn back to the window and take off the pillow to see the outside world.

While listening to the soothing taps of water hitting the window and the smooth brushes of rain on the grass outside, I watch the droplets gently travel down the glass. The water lines outside the window distort the sight outside, but it doesn't matter because I have ingrained the image in my mind after spending so many days looking out the same bleak window. Since the earth was slowly withering, the soft grass on the ground was an unsightly hue of brownish gray. The fog that engulfed the desolate land that I was so familiar with softly blends with the cloud-filled sky. I can hear a soft breeze moving across the landscape.

I am transfixed. I sometimes imagine what it would feel like to feel the harsh water washing all my worries away. I can sit here for hours just watching.

That is until the rustle of blankets alerted me that my cell mate is awake.

I hurriedly place the pillow back over the clear glass and turn around like I've been caught stealing extra food. Juliette and I were only ever caught once. Our parents didn't believe us when we told them it wasn't for us. We said we were trying to feed the stray cats that live around the corner. They didn't think we were human enough to want to save any living thing. They never believed anything we said.

Gaston is studying me.

I'm now sitting on the floor with my back to the wall. Directly under the window.

He scans me up and down as I look down at my fingernails and start picking at them. I feel his burning gaze on me as my fingers start to bleed.

I want to tell him to stop looking at me, but it seems all my talking skills left as I fell asleep last night. I'm back to my normal absent self.

"What's your name?" He tilts his head in a childish manner.

I sit there not daring to move. I take a breathe and make eye contact with him.

"Why are you here?" I look back down to my bleeding fingers. I start picking at them again as I wait for his response.

"Are you afraid of me?"

I look back up to him as he stands up and walks over to the wall next to the window and sits down.

"Do I need to be?"

It's the only response I can think of when he keeps staring at me with a look of curiosity and confusion across his face.

"No."

"Then I'm not afraid of you."

Knock Knock

My whole body stiffens as my emotions jolt back into their respective parts of my mind. He looks at me with a confused glance.

"No one's there, just our breakfast," I tell him.

I used to think the food here was God awful, but now I'm too starved to care. It was always served too salty or too sweet, but always disgusting.

He hesitates before standing up and edging towards the door.

"You shouldn't-" I tried to warn him but it was too late.

"God damnit!" He says while screwing up his hand in a tight fist. His jaw is clenched as he mutters more profanities under his breath. He burned his hand. I tried to warn him.

"They do it on purpose. They think it's funny to see the newbies fall for it." I glance down at my scar ridden hands before saying, "You should wait at least 3 minutes before touching the tray."

He looks up with and embarrassed look in his eye, "Did it happen to you?"

"Yes." I say monotonously as I lift my hands above my face so he could see all the scars. "It took me awhile to get the logistics of it all down. I didn't have someone to help me like you."

He looks up feverishly, "You'll help me?"

"We'll I just did, didn't I?"

"Yeah... just too late."

I roll my eyes while he has a playful look in his eyes. "Are you always so ungrateful?"

He lets out a snort but I just give him a pointed look. "I am not being ungrateful, I just know my true worth and hope to be treated that way."

"Okay, Gaston." I say with a snort.

"My name is Zeidan," he says with a straight face.

"Congratulations."

He lets out an exasperated sigh, "Don't call me Gaston."

I without missing a beat or showing a flicker of emotion I say, "Well stop acting like him."

Zeidan let's out a scoff. "I do not act like...him." He says with a disgust lacing tone and a small shadow of a smile on his face.

It is now my turn to scoff as I say "Do too! You are clearly self-centered."

"No, I just know my self worth."

"God. They must've put you in here to torture me. You are insufferable."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"God, you're worse than my sister," I say with a small smile etched on my face as I think back to Juliette.

"Awww! Are you saying I'm like a sibling to you?" Zeidan says, clearly trying to get under my skin.

I make a disgusted look as I say, "Ew, no. You're just as stubborn as her."

Zeidan let's out another exasperated sigh. "I am not stubborn," he says with a little whine in his voice.

"Exactly my point," I say with a snort.

I haven't felt this light and free in awhile but with Zeidan it seems all my worries are slipping away.

"You're good to eat it now."

"Great thanks. You want some?" His voice becomes lower. No teasing tone.

"No." I look down at my hands not bothering to look up when I feel his eyes on me.

"Hey-"

Knock Knock

Zeidan jumps to his feet as do I.

It's time to shower.